The Day of the Iguana

 

Ellie and I took a stroll through Oranjestad, the main town on the island of Aruba.  I wanted to see the old town and Ellie wanted a watch battery.  It was bliss. Save for it being Sunday and a parade day and everything was shut.  But we did manage the watch battery and we did get through what passed for the old town. it was more like the decrepit, Hollywood backlot sets that time forgot and weather battered.  It was a ghost town and kind of odd, but since I love decay, it was kind of cool in its own way.

Then we turned a corner and walked down by the water to sit on a bench and take in the sea. 

A cute little iguana popped up and was pleasant as could be.  If he were human I would swear he wanted money.  We just took loads of photos of him as if he were our own private discovery. 



Then we go up to leave and the rocks by the water were LOADED with iguanas.  It was a veritable iguana convention.  You could not walk 5 paces without seeing one. I thought of it as a Far Side cartoon with these two silly tourists marvelling over this primitive, rare missing link iguana while there are like a thousand other iguanas hiding with one saying to the rest, "Shhh, let's keep 'em thinking they are so smart. it will help us when we take over the world in June."







Decay, iguanas and a watch battery.  Time for lunch.

Hey, Cucumber Eyes!

Add another event to the list of things I never thought I would do like smoke a cigarette, throw up from drinking, and punch a guy.

Today I got a facial.  Hey, whoa.  From a spa. 

Ellie and I entered the tranquil depths of the ship's spa like we were sneaking away from our husbands and our bridge club for a week to have a "procedure."

But it was not a procedure, just a "treatment."  A facial.

Ellie had never had one either. 

It was definitely indulgent.  Lots of product goes on the face, you are in a nice space and a beautician dressed like a nurse from the 1950s touches you so lightly you fall asleep from the bliss of it all.  Pretty great.  But at $5/second, kind of dear.

They tell you your skin in dry (duh) and mine put all sorts of goop on me like she was dressing a salad and then did some heat wand to drive the moisture deep. She said.

I left there and looked in the mirror and I was shocked I did not look 22 and just out of college.  Damn.  (Again "treatment" not "procedure.")

Truth be told, it felt really good and I left inspired to exfoliate more.   My friend Jon who I think should look every second of the month that he is older than me, has taken good care of his skin and it shows. He looks great. I have years of sun, smoke and hooch and Irish "melanomacholy" to work through, but this was really a fun start. 

Tomorrow we get rolfed!

Panama Canal Redux, or PC Backwards

I spent forty some odd, okay why don't I just start practicing saying it-- almost fifty years-- never having been through the Panama Canal and now in less than I week I have been through it twice.  



Having been East to West first, I found West to East much better. The pressure to take it all in, understand it all, embrace its wonder, was off.  This time I got to enjoy it and boy it was wonderful.

The weather was less humid and the vibe on the boat was less "touristy" for some reason.  Ellie and I had our most excellent seats in the corner of the pool area looking out to sea as it were.  I ready my book and took in the canal and the locks all at once. Glorious day of cruising.

Another Day in Paradise

Ellie and I are on the 2nd leg of our trip now. It is official and we have to accept it. 

 Heading back to Miami now through the Panama Canal and back to the Caribbean islands we visited last week.  We have done it all so the pressure is off and we can just enjoy.

Funny to see all the newbies aboard.  Seems like a much younger crowd than last week. Average age 63 maybe?  I think the Karaoke Bar and the casino will be hopping this week as a result.  Maybe even some necking on the promenade deck.

Since all the new folk don't know the choice places by the pool, Ellie and I were able to score primo spots we never got last week.  This corner that is cool and has these amazing lounge bed things that face the water.  Very coveted real estate. We were able to lounge in them all day today.  I am almost finished with my second book.   This is a rarity for me. I love being someone who reads!   Not having 24 hour computer access has helped me take on this old-fashioned pastime.

Great day all around aboard this fantastico ship. We are still in awe on trip 2!

The real stinger...

I was going to write about the beauty off the port side of the ship and how we stayed aboard the whole time we were docked in Costa Rica, etc. but I think I will write about bees.  No birds, just bees.

Ellie was out by the pool and came up to me and told me she just got stung by a bee.  "Ridiculous!" I answered. "Everyone knows there are no bees in Costa Rica." (Not true and I really didn't say that.)  She was quite a trooper and killed the bee and pulled the stinger out.  She got a clean bill of health by the infirmary and we decided to play paddle tennis for the first time on board.  '

We had a noble attempt at the game and then went back to lounging and reading. Later it was discovered there was a giant bee's nest on in the netted paddle tennis area! Had we been any more rubbish than we were we would have swatted it and been stung to a slow death on the court. 

That giant mass in the photo below is 100s of bees gathered on the netting above the paddle tennis court trying to get a free cruise. 



Oh, and it was a beautiful day as we waiting to sail this evening.

Fairwell + Sea Mammals

Today is the final day of leg one of our journey for tomorrow morning at 5am we arrive in Costa Rica. Most of the folk will disembark (?) and we shall stay on board.  We had our final meal tonight with our tablemates Selia  and George and Penny and Gordon.  It is a bit like getting stuck on an elevator - you bond and get very attached, but as soon as those doors open you know you will all go your separate ways.  It makes me sad as they were all so wonderful, but without the ship and Table 51 there is no real glue to stay in touch and I think we all know it. That even makes me sad. No matter, we have the email addresses and can at least send first volleys of photos to each other.

Tomorrow will be like starting at a new school as we have new staterooms and will have new tablemates and 99% new passengers. 

Today we saw dolphins. Or maybe porpoises.  I say off the starboard side because it sounds better, but I think it was the port side.  Why just one side, dolphin?  Or porpoises?  Why do you guys swim alongside both sides?  Anyway it was JOYOUS to see them swimming alongside and jumping out. I tried to get good photos, but all I got really was water. 

It reminded me of all those guys who use those photos for them in the water with dolphins for their personal ad picture.  I hate that.  And I wouldn't want to go out with them. Nor they with me, clearly! 

(Watch, in 3 years I will be 50 and posing with a dolphin on Match.com.  I know it. )

Well, that is all the news that is fit to print from Pacific Ocean.  Tomorrow Costa Rica, the country said to have the happiest people in the world.

Rubbish dolphin photo.

Madam, I'm Adam...

...I mean "A Man, A Plan, Panama"

Went through the Panama Canal today.  Historic moment. Well, for me.  It was my first time.  I was in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans all in one long, humid, amazing day. 

It was a thrill to do through the locks.  I took a lie down in my stateroom and out my window I could see light and trees and darkness and a stone wall.  The water was being lowered. It was amazing.



I never knew so much about this canal until now.  It did renew my love for Teddy Roosevelt. I think he and John Adams are my two favorite presidents, but that has nothing to do with today. 

Ellie and I got up early to watch with the droves.  Since we were not the earliest, this is where my height paid off and poor Ellie was SOL.  But we went to the promenade deck and saw it from all sides.  Once the gates of the lock close you run to the back of the ship and watch it fill up.  Fun.  Like being kids.

Then you realize you will be at this for hours (9 in fact) and you go and have lunch, but window seat to see the ships pass on the opposite direction.

I loved the rain forest and the huge ass man made lake that we were in for what seemed like forever. 

I have to say I felt badly for the French who really seem to get slammed historically for their failure in constructing the canal.  All I heard in the talk was "French" and 'failure." 

Sigh.